Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Opportunity of Indian IT industry
The article analyses the significance of the Indian ban on Chinese apps. The ban also presents Indian IT companies with unique opportunity.
Context
- The current India-China border standoff has entered into cyberspace.
How China took lead in IT
- The Chinese government censored and banned several popular Western websites and applications years ago.
- In the intervening years the Chinese Internet market exploded and has grown to over 900 million users.
- The Chinese government insulated Chinese entrepreneurs from Big Tech in Silicon Valley.
- Home-grown apps at first were faithful reproductions of Silicon Valley, but soon morphed into distinctly Chinese applications tailored solely to the home market.
- According to the 2016 White House report, the Chinese have leapfrogged even the U.S. in AI research.
- In this case, the intellectual property being produced actually belongs to China and is not a faithful duplicate of someone else’s product or technology.
- This has far-reaching implications.
Significance of India’s ban
- India now has the lowest Internet data costs in the world.
- In its attempt to dominate the rest of the world, the Chinese Internet industry desperately needs India’s 500-plus million netizens to continue to train AI algorithms they put together.
- The ban on apps in India is not only a geopolitical move but also a strategic trade manoeuvre that can have a significant economic impact.
- Ban on Chinese apps allows our home-grown IT talent to focus on the newly arrived Internet user.
- However, India’s focus remains on exporting IT services while paying little attention to servicing our own nation’s tech market.
- India spent the last two decades exporting technology services to developed countries in the West, the vacuum created as the Indian Internet grew has been filled by American Big Tech and by the Chinese.
- After the removal of more than 118 Chinese apps, Indian techies have started trying to fill the holes.
Way forward
- The primary Indian IT objective must shift from servicing others to providing for ourselves.
- Focus should not be simply to replace what the exiting firms have so far been providing.
- Focus should be on providing services and products of high quality that will be used by everyday Indians across the country.
- The aim of providing netizens with the same services across diverse markets is overarching — regional barriers created by language exist within our own nation.
- The fundamental focus of the new digital products should be to provide for hyper-regional necessities and preferences.
- Hyper-local and hyper-regional services with great accessibility that are also portable across our linguistic diversity, are likely to succeed in creating one of the strongest Internet markets in the world.
Consider the question “What are factors responsible for the lack of innovation in the Indian IT industry? How the ban on Chinese apps provide the IT industry with the opportunity to fill the vacuum?”
Conclusion
Indian IT companies must seize the opportunity provided by the exit of Chinese IT companies and come up with products transcending regional barriers and allowing accessibility.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Singapore Convention
Mains level: Not Much
The Singapore Convention on Mediation has finally come into force.
Try this MCQ:
Q. The Singapore Convention recently seen in news is related to:
Climate change/ Arbitration and conciliation/ Foreign trade/ Marine Regulation
Singapore Convention
- It is aimed to provide a more effective way of enforcing mediated settlements of corporate disputes involving businesses in India and other countries that are signatories to the Convention.
- Also known as the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, this is also the first UN treaty to be named after Singapore.
- With the Convention in force, businesses seeking enforcement of a mediated settlement agreement across borders can do so by applying directly to the courts of countries that have signed and ratified the treaty.
- The harmonized and simplified enforcement framework under the Convention translates to savings in time and legal costs.
Its signatories
- The Convention has 53 signatories, including India, China and the U.S.
- Singapore had worked with the UN Commission on International Trade Law, other UN member states and non-governmental organisations for the Convention.
Significance of the convention
- The Convention would boost India’s ‘ease of doing business’ credentials by enabling swift mediated settlements of corporate disputes.
- Businesses in India and around the world will now have greater certainty in resolving cross-border disputes through mediation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FCRA
Mains level: FCRA
The licences of 13 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been suspended under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, this year.
What is the FCRA?
- The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
- First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 when a slew of new measures was adopted to regulate foreign donations.
- The FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations. It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.
- The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.
What happens once registered?
- Registered associations can receive a foreign contribution for social, educational, religious, economic and cultural purposes.
- Filing of annual returns, on the lines of Income Tax, is compulsory.
- In 2015, the MHA notified new rules, which required NGOs to give an undertaking that the acceptance of foreign funds.
- It ruled that it is not likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or impact friendly relations with any foreign state and does not disrupt communal harmony.
- It also said all such NGOs would have to operate accounts in either nationalized or private banks which have core banking facilities to allow security agencies access on a real-time basis.
Who cannot receive foreign donations?
- Members of the legislature and political parties, government officials, judges and media persons are prohibited from receiving any foreign contribution.
- However, in 2017 the MHA amended the 1976-repealed FCRA law paving the way for political parties to receive funds from the Indian subsidiary of a foreign company or a foreign company in which an Indian holds 50% or more shares.
How else can receive foreign funding?
- The other way to receive foreign contributions is by applying for prior permission.
- It is granted for receipt of a specific amount from a specific donor for carrying out specific activities or projects.
- But the association should be registered under statutes such as the Societies Registration Act, 1860, the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, or Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.
- A letter of commitment from the foreign donor specifying the amount and purpose is also required.
When is a registration suspended or cancelled?
- The MHA on inspection of accounts and on receiving any adverse input against the functioning of an association can suspend the FCRA registration initially for 180 days.
- Until a decision is taken, the association cannot receive any fresh donation and cannot utilise more than 25% of the amount available in the designated bank account without the permission of the MHA.
- The MHA can cancel the registration of an organisation which will not be eligible for registration or grant of ‘prior permission’ for three years from the date of cancellation.
Also read:
Registration under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Question hour, Zero Hour
Mains level: Not Much
The decision to go without “Question Hour” during the Monsoon Session of Parliament has evoked serious concerns about the democratic functioning of the institution.
This newscard is very narrative in its form and scope. Try this question as well-
Q.Discuss the various instruments of Parliamentary Control in India.
What is Question Hour?
- Question Hour is the liveliest hour in Parliament. It is during this one hour that MPs ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries.
- Prior to Independence, the first question asked of government was in 1893. It was on the burden cast on village shopkeepers who had to provide supplies to touring government officers.
- The questions that MPs ask are designed to elicit information and trigger suitable action by ministries.
- Over the last 70 years, MPs have successfully used this parliamentary device to shine a light on government functioning.
- Their questions have exposed financial irregularities and brought data and information regarding government functioning to the public domain.
- With the broadcasting since 1991, Question Hour has become one of the most visible aspects of parliamentary functioning.
Its evolution
- The right to question the executive has been exercised by members of the House from the colonial period.
- The first Legislative Council in British India under the Charter Act, 1853, showed some degree of independence by giving members the power to ask questions to the executive.
- Later, the Indian Council Act of 1861 allowed members to elicit information by means of questions.
- However, it was the Indian Council Act, 1892, which formulated the rules for asking questions including short notice questions.
- The next stage of the development of procedures related to questions came up with the framing of rules under the Indian Council Act, 1909, which incorporated provisions for asking supplementary questions by members.
- The Montague-Chelmsford reforms brought forth a significant change in 1919 by incorporating a rule that the first hour of every meeting was earmarked for questions. Parliament has continued this tradition.
- In 1921, there was another change. The question, on which a member desired to have an oral answer, was distinguished by him with an asterisk, a star. This marked the beginning of starred questions.
Its significance
- Question Hour is not only an opportunity for the members to raise questions, but it is a parliamentary device primarily meant for exercising legislative control over executive actions.
- The government’s actions erode the constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight over executive actions as envisaged under Article 75 (3) of the Indian Constitution.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNESCO heritages (tangible and intangible)
Mains level: Not Much
Turkish Coffee made it to the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. It is celebrated in literature and songs and is an important part of ceremonies and festivals.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following pairs:
Traditions Communities
- Chaliha Sahib Festival — Sindhis
- Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra — Gonds
- Wari-Warkari — Santhals
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) None of the above
Turkish Coffee
- To make Turkish Coffee, Arabica beans are ground manually and boiled with water and sugar in a special pot called cezve in Turkey and ibrik elsewhere.
- It is taken off the heat as soon as it begins to froth and before it boils over.
- It is traditionally served in individual porcelain cups called kahvefinjan.
- Sometimes the coffee may be flavoured with cardamom or other spices and served with a small piece of Turkish delight.
Back2Basics: Intangible Heritages from India
- Tradition of Vedic chanting
- Ramlila, the traditional performance of the Ramayana
- Kutiyattam, Sanskrit theatre
- Ramman, religious festival and ritual theatre of the Garhwal Himalayas.
- Mudiyettu, ritual theatre and dance drama of Kerala
- Kalbelia folk songs and dances of Rajasthan
- Chhau dance
- Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in the trans-Himalayan Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir.
- Sankirtana, ritual singing, drumming and dancing of Manipur
- Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil making among the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, Punjab
- Yoga
- Nawrouz
- Kumbh Mela
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Question hour and zero hour comparison
Mains level: Paper 2- Question hour and its significance
The article highlights the significance of question hour in democracy.
Context
- The decision to go without “Question Hour” during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, beginning September 14, has evoked serious concerns about the democratic functioning of the institution.
Significance of question hour
- Question Hour is an opportunity for the members to raise questions,
- It is also a parliamentary device primarily meant for exercising legislative control over executive actions.
- It is also a device to criticise government policies and programmes, ventilate public grievances, expose the government’s lapses, extract promises from ministers.
- In short, question hour helps to ensure accountability and transparency in governance.
Right to question the executive: Historical background
- The right to question the executive has been exercised by members of the House from the colonial period.
- The first Legislative Council in British India under the Charter Act, 1853, allowed members the power to ask questions to the executive.
- The Indian Council Act of 1861 allowed members to elicit information by means of questions.
- However, it was the Indian Council Act, 1892, which formulated the rules for asking questions including short notice questions.
- The Indian Council Act, 1909, which incorporated provisions for asking supplementary questions by members.
- The Montague-Chelmsford reforms brought forth a significant change in 1919 by incorporating a rule that the first hour of every meeting was earmarked for questions.
- Parliament has continued this tradition.
- Since 1921, the question on which a member desired to have an oral answer, was distinguished by him with an asterisk, a star.
Recent instances in which right to ask questions was curtailed
- The government passed important bills in the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha before the formation of department-related standing committees.
- The Constitution Amendment Bill on J&K was introduced without circulating copies to the members.
- Several important bills were passed as Finance Bills to avoid scrutiny of the Rajya Sabha.
- Standing committees are an extension of Parliament.
- Any person has the right to present his/her opinion to a Bill during the process of consideration.
Consider the question “What is the significance of question hour in the context of democracy in India? What is the implication of its suspension due to pandemic?”
Conclusion
The government’s actions erode the constitutional mandate of parliamentary oversight over executive actions as envisaged under Article 75 (3) of the Indian Constitution.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Malnutrition and health of the child
The article analyses the problem of malnutrition in India and suggests the pathways to achieve the malnutrition free India by 2030.
Severity of the nourishment problem in India
- There were 189.2 million undernourished people (28 per cent of the world) in India in 2017-19, as per the combined report of FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (FAO, et.al. 2020) on “The state of Food Security and Nutrition in the World”.
- India accounts for 28 per cent (40.3 million) of the world’s stunted children (low height-for-age) under five years of age, and 43 per cent (20.1 million) of the world’s wasted children (low weight-for-height) in 2019.
- In India, the problem has been more severe amongst children below the age of five years.
- As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS, 2015-16), the proportion of underweight and stunted children was as high as 35.8 per cent and 38.4 per cent respectively.
- In several districts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and even Gujarat, the proportion of underweight children was more than 40 per cent.
Aims of the National Nutrition Mission (NNM)
- Ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030 is also the target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-2) of Zero Hunger.
- Towards this end, NNM aims to reduce stunting, underweight and low birth weight each by 2 per cent per annum.
- It aims to reduce anaemia among children, adolescent girls and women, each by 3 per cent per annum by 2022.
- However, the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2017 has estimated that if the current trend continues, India cannot achieve these targets under NNM by 2022.
Understanding the key determinants and deciding policy response
1) Mothers’ education
- Mothers’ education, particularly higher education, has the strongest inverse association with under-nutrition.
- Women’s education has a multiplier effect not only on household food security but also on the child’s feeding practice and the sanitation facility.
- Despite India’s considerable improvement in female literacy, only 13.7 per cent of women have received higher education (NFHS, 2015-16).
- Therefore, programmes that promote women’s higher education such as liberal scholarships for women need to be accorded a much higher priority.
2) Sanitation and access to safe drinking water
- The second key determinant of child under-nutrition is the wealth index, which subsumes access to sanitation facilities and safe drinking water.
- WASH initiatives, that is, safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, are critical for improving child nutritional outcomes.
- In this context, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to eliminate open defecation and bring about behavioural changes in hygiene and sanitation practices.
- In five years of the Abhiyan, as per government records, rural sanitation coverage has gone from 38.7 per cent in 2014 to 100 per cent in 2019, while the sanitation coverage in urban cites has gone up to 99 per cent by September 2020.
- This remarkable achievement of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, subject to third-party evaluations, is expected to have a multiplier effect on nutritional outcomes.
3) Leveraging agricultural policies
- We should leverage agricultural policies and programmes to be more “nutrition-sensitive” and reinforcing diet diversification towards a nutrient-rich diet.
- Food-based safety nets in India are biased in favour of staples: rice and wheat.
- They need to provide a more diversified food basket, including coarse grains, millets, pulses and bio-fortified staples.
- Bio-fortification is very cost-effective in improving the diet of households and the nutritional status of children.
- The Harvest-Plus programme of CGIAR can work with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to grow new varieties of nutrient-rich staple food crops.
4) Promotion of exclusive breastfeeding, complementary foods, diversified diet
- The promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and the introduction of complementary foods and a diversified diet after the first six months is essential to meet the nutritional needs of infants and ensure appropriate growth and cognitive development of children.
5) Access to prenatal and postnatal care
- Access and utilisation of prenatal and postnatal health care services also play a significant role in curbing undernutrition among children.
- Aanganwadi workers and community participation can bring significant improvements in child-caring practices.
Consider the question “Assess the severity the problem of malnutrition in India and suggest the measure to achieve the goal of malnutrition free India by 2030”
Conclusion
To contribute towards the holistic nourishment of children and a malnutrition free India by 2030, the government needs to address the multi-dimensional determinants of malnutrition on an urgent basis.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to livelihood and related Articles
Mains level: Paper 2- Right of livelihood
The article analyses the implications of recent Supreme Court order regarding the removal of encroachment along the railway line.
Context
- In short order, the Supreme Court of India on August 31 ordered the removal of about 48,000 slum dwellings situated along the railway tracks in Delhi.
- The order raises several legal questions, which are discussed below.
1) Violation of the principle of natural justice
- The order violates principles of natural justice and due process because it was delivered without hearing the affected party, the jhuggi dwellers.
- The order was passed in the long-running case on the piling up of garbage along railway tracks.
- However, neither this case nor the report concerns itself with the legality of informal settlements.
- Still, the Court made an unconvincing connection between the piling of garbage and the presence of slums.
2) Ignoring the right to livelihood
- In this order, the Court ignored its long-standing jurisprudence on the right to livelihood.
- In the landmark decision concerning pavement-dwellers, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in Olga Tellis & Ors vs. Bombay Municipal Corporation & Ors. (1985) held that the right to life also includes the “right to livelihood”.
- Further, in Chameli Singh vs. the State Of U.P. (1995), the Supreme Court recognised the “right to shelter” as a component of the right to life under Article 21 and freedom of movement under Article 19(1)(e).
3) Failure to consider policies and case laws
- High Court of Delhi has held that prior to any eviction, a survey must be conducted.
- The procedure laid down in this judgment formed the basis for the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015.
- In Ajay Maken & Ors. vs Union Of India & Ors. (2019), the Delhi High Court invoked the idea of the “Right to the City” to uphold the housing rights of slum dwellers.
- This case led to the framing of a Draft Protocol for the 2015 Policy on how meaningful engagement with residents should be conducted.
Conclusion
The Courts need to strike the balance between the rights of the slum dweller and those affected by the encroachment.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-China relations
The article analyses the challenges in the India-China border dispute and the recent events of Chinese aggression.
Trust deficit
- The recent Chinese actions have set back trust between the two countries by decades.
- Trust made sense when both sides could assume that the other side either did not have the capacity or would not rapidly deploy troops in strategic positions at the border.
- With the building of infrastructure on both sides, this trust was bound to break.
- Even after temporary disengagement, both sides will now have distrust about the deployment of the other side.
- An infrastructure-thick environment will require a permanent presence and closer deployments.
Challenges
- At the level of the army, India seems to have consistently misread the PLA’s intentions.
- The closer the armies get, the greater the risks.
- There is a political logic that does not bode well. There is still speculation on why the Chinese are taking an aggressive posture.
- The very fact that we are not sure of Chinese motives means it is hard to know their endgame.
Chinese fears
- At a basic level, they will want to secure their interests in CPEC.
- Tibet issue has also been a sensitive issue for China.
- Chinese interest in Nepal is less to encircle India. It is to ensure Nepal is not used as a staging ground of resistance in Tibet.
Tibet issues in India-China relations
- On Tibet issue India is in an awkward situation.
- Due to the presence of the Dalai Lama in India, China will see it as a potential threat to its cultural hegemony in Tibet.
- Ladakh and Tawang are also important pieces in that cultural consolidation.
- The Sino-India peaceful relations were premised on keeping the Tibet issue in check.
- But just as we are not sure of Chinese motives, they may not be sure of our motives either.
New paradigm in India’s foreign policy
- India growing power means it needs a new paradigm of foreign policy.
- This policy will supposedly safeguard India’s interests more assertively.
- If diplomatically not well managed, this change also causes great uncertainty in the international system.
- India’s Pakistan policy is premised entirely on keeping them guessing on what we might do, including possible military options and altering the territorial status quo.
- Our domestic ideological articulation of India’s position ranges from reclaiming PoK to Aksai Chin.
- We cannot abandon Tibetans.
- This underscores a narrative of uncertainty over our intentions.
Conclusion
Our own trumpeted departure from the past, without either the diplomatic preparation, domestic political discipline, and full anticipation of military eventualities, does not make it easy for others to understand our endgame.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: “Dictionary of Martyrs” Project
Mains level: India's freedom struggle
Four martyrs of Communist movement of Kerala will be added to the ‘Dictionary of Martyrs India’s Freedom Struggle (1857-1947)’, if an earlier review report to the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) is accepted.
Communist revolutionaries of Kerala
- The four who may make it to the list include Aboobacker and Chirukandan of Kayyur, “who walked to the gallows shouting Inquilab Zindabad and Communist Party Zindabad” and “died as brave communists,” as mentioned in the fifth volume of the dictionary.
- Abu of Mambram, a Communist and active partner in the nationalist and anti-imperialist movements, and Chattukutty, an active Communist cadre involved in the agitations for price control, wage hike, and relief to peasants, who were killed in the Tellichery police firing on September 15, 1940, would also qualify.
- The report had suggested the deletion of the martyrs of Punnapra-Vayalar, Karivelloor, and Kavumbayi agitations as they were rioters against the interim government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.
Back2Basics: “Dictionary of Martyrs” Project
- The project for the compilation of “Dictionary of Martyrs” of India’s Freedom Struggle was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, to the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the uprising of 1857.
- In this dictionary, a martyr has been defined as a person who died or who was killed in action or in detention, or was awarded capital punishment while participating in the national movement for the emancipation of India.
- It includes ex-INA or ex-military personnel who died fighting the British.
- Information of about 13,500 martyrs has been recorded in these volumes.
Who are included?
- It includes the martyrs of 1857 Uprising, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919), Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22), Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-34), Quit India Movement (1942-44), Revolutionary Movements (1915-34), Kissan Movements, Tribal Movements, Agitation for Responsible Government in the Princely States (Prajamandal), Indian National Army (INA, 1943-45), Royal Indian Navy Upsurge (RIN, 1946), etc.
Five Volumes
- Volume 1: In this volume, more than 4400 martyrs of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have been listed.
- Volume 2: In this volume, more than 3500 martyrs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir have been listed.
- Volume 3: The number of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 1400. This volume covers the martyrs of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Sind.
- Volume 4: The numbers of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 3300. This volume covers the martyrs of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura.
- Volume 5: The number of martyrs covered in this volume is more than 1450. This volume covers the martyrs of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CSCAF 2.0
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) 2.0.
About CSCAF 2.0
- A framework is a climate-sensitive approach to urban planning and development in India.
- It was developed after a review of existing frameworks and assessment approaches adopted throughout the world.
- It followed a series of an extensive consultative process with more than 26 organizations and 60 experts from different thematic areas.
- The Climate Centre for Cities under National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is supporting MoHUA in implementation of CSCAF.
Various indicators of the framework
The framework has 28 indicators across five categories namely:
- Energy and Green Buildings
- Urban Planning, Green Cover & Biodiversity
- Mobility and Air Quality
- Water Management
- Waste Management
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems
Mains level: Not Much
The Results of the second edition of Ranking of States on Support to Startup Ecosystems were recently released by Minister of Commerce & Industry.
About the Ranking
- The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has conducted the second edition of the States Startup Ranking Exercise.
- The key objective is to foster competitiveness and propel States and Union Territories to work proactively towards uplifting the startup ecosystem.
- It has been implemented as a capacity development exercise to encourage mutual learning among all states and to provide support in policy formulation and implementation.
7 focus areas
- Institutional Leaders
- Regulatory Change Champions
- Procurement Leaders
- Incubation Hubs
- Seeding Innovation Leaders
- Scaling Innovations Leaders
- Awareness and Outreach Champions
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Streets for People
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the initiative ‘Streets for People’ for making cities more pedestrian-friendly.
Streets for People
- The Challenge builds on the advisory issued by MoHUA for the holistic planning for pedestrian-friendly market spaces, earlier this year.
- It will support cities across the country to develop a unified vision of streets for people in consultation with stakeholders and citizens.
- Adopting a participatory approach, cities will be guided to launch their own design competitions to gather innovative ideas from professionals for quick, innovative, and low-cost tactical solutions.
- It aims to inspire cities to create walking-friendly and vibrant streets through quick, innovative, and low-cost measures.
- All cities participating in the challenge shall be encouraged to use the ‘test-learn-scale’ approach to initiate both, flagship and neighbourhood walking interventions.
- The interventions can include inter alia creating pedestrian-friendly streets in high footfall areas, re-imagining under-flyover spaces, re-vitalizing dead neighbourhood spaces, and creating walking links through parks and institutional areas.
Various stakeholders
- Fit India Mission, under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, along with the India program of the Institute for Transport Development and Policy (ITDP) has partnered with the Smart Cities Mission to support the challenge.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST compensation cess
Mains level: Paper 3- GST compensation
The economic disruption due to pandemic has made the issue of GST compensation bone of contention between the Centre and the States. This article argues that it is the GST Council and not the Centre which is responsible to find ways to raise the revenue in such a situation.
GST revenue loss and role of the Centre
- Due to global pandemic, one significant area of loss of revenue to both the Centre and the states is GST.
- The states have the comfort of assured 14 per cent growth through the compensation mechanism.
- The Centre has no such guarantee.
- The Compensation Act mandates compensating the states for revenue loss on GST implementation from the Compensation Fund.
Role of GST Council
- The course of action to be adopted in the event of the amount in the Fund falling short of requirements was discussed at length in the GST Council.
- The late Arun Jaitley, then chairman, had, in the 8th meeting, assured that “in case Compensation Fund fell short of the compensation payable, the GST Council shall decide the mode of raising additional resources including borrowing from the market which could be repaid by collection of cess in the sixth year or further subsequent years”; the Council had agreed to this suggestion.
- Quite clearly, it is the Council and not the Government of India that shall decide the mode of raising additional resources in the event of a shortfall and this is reflected in Section 10(1) of the Compensation Act.
Why it makes sense for the States to borrow
- It is argued that borrowings by the Centre or by the states make no difference in the context of fiscal discipline.
- The argument further adds that the Centre should borrow in view of its higher borrowing and debt-servicing capacity and its ability to borrow at lower rates.
- Article 292 (1) mandates that the Centre can borrow on the security of the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI).
- However, the idea of providing compensation to the states from the Consolidated Fund of India was not agreed to in the Council, it is difficult to agree with the suggestion that GoI borrows on the basis of the said CFI.
- Large borrowings by the Centre would push up the bond yield rates, pushing up bond yield of the states setting off a spiral leading to hike in the interest rates for businesses and individuals.
- The states’ borrowing would become costlier if the Centre were to borrow for this purpose.
- The borrowing capacity of the states, too, is not very inferior.
- The RBI study of state finances shows that the debt receipts of all the states as a percentage of GDP has hovered between 2.4 per cent and 3.6 per cent during the last four years.
- The states have on the average borrowed just about 1.25 per cent of the GSDP thus far.
- The states are consistently borrowing less than they can borrow (legally and financially).
- The cost of state borrowings for this purpose can be considerably lowered if arranged through a special window.
- The Centre has already breached the budgeted borrowing limits for the current year.
- Thus it makes sense for the states to borrow.
Borrowing options for the States
- There are two ways in which the States can borrow.
- 1) Borrowing the entire shortfall in the revenue.
- 2) Borrowing only the shortfall attributable to GST implementation with the remaining shortfall to be made good from the Cess Fund post the transition period.
- Certain conditionalities have been relaxed for option-1.
- However, borrowing the entire shortfall, as envisaged in option-1, will hurt both the markets and the private sector, pushing up the interest rate.
- The single window under option-1 being arranged by the Centre and the entire debt being serviced from future cess receipts will ensure that the cost remains close to the G-sec rate.
- Moreover, there will be no variation in the interest rate as between the states.
Conclusion
The states should come forward and work with the Centre in the true spirit of cooperative federalism that the Council has come to be known for these past few years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blockchain
Mains level: Paper 2- Idea of using blockchain technology for remote voting
The article analyses the pros and cons of the adoption of blockchain technology for remote voting.
Background
- The Election Commission of India has been exploring the idea of further digitising the electoral infrastructure of the country.
- In furtherance of this, it explored the possibility of using blockchain technology for the purpose of enabling remote elections.
What will be the benefits
- ‘Remote voting’ would appear to benefit internal migrants and seasonal workers, who account for roughly 51 million of the populace (Census 2011).
- The envisioned solution might also be useful for some remotely-stationed members of the Indian armed forces.
Key issues
- Electors would still have to physically reach a designated venue in order to cast their vote,
- Digitisation and interconnectivity introduce additional points of failure external to the processes which exist in the present day.
- Blockchain solutions rely heavily on the proper implementation of cryptographic protocols.
- If security is breached, it could unmask the identity and voting preferences of electors, or worse yet, allow an individual to cast a vote as someone else.
- The provisioning of a dedicated line may make the infrastructure less prone to outages, it may also make it increasingly prone to targeted Denial-of-Service attack.
- Digitised systems may also stand to exclude and disenfranchise certain individuals due to flaws in interdependent platforms, flaws in system design, as well as general failures caused by external factors.
Way forward
- Political engagement could perhaps be improved by introducing and improving upon other methods, such as postal ballots or proxy voting.
- Another proposed solution to this issue includes the creation of a ‘One Nation, One Voter ID’ system.
Consider the question “What are the opportunities and challenges in the adoption of blockchain technology. Suggest the other alternatives to enable the ballot portability.”
Conclusion
Adoption of technology should be weighed against the risk it carries in the electoral process. While the adoption of blockchain technology offers many opportunities, the concerns it raises must be addressed before its adoption.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Global Biodiversity Outlook, CBD
Mains level: Biodiversity and its governance
The Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) 5 report was leaked before its official release. Let’s look at the highlights of the report.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following pairs:
Terms sometimes seen in the news- Their origin
- Annex-I Countries- Cartagena Protocol
- Certified Emissions- Nagoya Protocol Reductions
- Clean Development- Kyoto Protocol Mechanism
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
About GBO report
- The GBO is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
- It is a periodic report that summarizes the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention.
- It summarizes progress made towards achieving the objectives of the Convention, such as the Aichi Targets and identifies key actions to achieve these.
Highlights of the Report
- GBO-5 is an overview of the state of nature. It is a final report card on the progress made by countries in achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
- What the world needed was a shift from business-as-usual, the report said. This transformation needed to take place in all human activities that were interlinked with natural resources.
- This shift was crucial, the report added as natural resources would continue to decline and the world would not be able to meet the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals.
- The GBO-5 suggested some shifts that need to be implemented to achieve the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity. These include:
- Transition within land and forests: The report called the restoration of all forests that had been degraded. It also urged restoring local ecosystems.
- Sustainable agriculture: Farmers would have to reduce the use of chemicals and instead focus more on agroecological farming practices, the report said.
- Sustainable food systems: The report urged people to eat healthier, plant-based food and less meat. It also called for a focus on the problem of food wastage within the supply chain and household.
- Climate action: The report called for nature-based solutions to reduce climate change
- One health: Agricultural and urban ecosystems, as well as wildlife, should be managed in an integrated manner, it said.
Failure to meet the targets
None of the 20 ‘Aichi Biodiversity Targets’ agreed on by national governments through the CBD has been met, according to the report. The world was supposed to meet these targets by 2020. Whatever little progress has been made, has to do with the following:
- Aichi Biodiversity Target 1 (Creating awareness about the value of biodiversity)
- Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 (17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, to be effectively and equitably managed)
- Aichi Biodiversity Target 16 (Access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization)
- Aichi Biodiversity Target 17 (Creation, adoption and implementation of an effective, participatory and updated national biodiversity strategy and action plan)
- Aichi Biodiversity Target 19 (Improvement and dissemination of knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity).
Back2Basics: Convention on Biological Diversity
- The CBD, known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty.
- The Convention has three main goals including the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its components; and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
- It has two supplementary agreements:
- Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety- An international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another
- Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS)
- All UN member states—with the exception of the United States—have ratified the treaty.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Breach of Priviliges in Legislation
Mains level: Not Much
A motion for breach of privilege was moved in the Maharashtra Assembly against a news channel’s editor-in-chief. A similar motion was moved in the Maharashtra Legislative Council against an actor.
Try this PYQ:
Q.With reference to the Parliament of India, which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws etc. conferred by the constitution of delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
(a) Committee on Government Assurances
(b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation
(c) Rules Committee
(d) Business Advisory Committee
Provisions to protect the privileges of the legislature
- The powers, privileges and immunities of either House of the Indian Parliament and of its Members and committees are laid down in Article 105 of the Constitution.
- Article 194 deals with the powers, privileges and immunities of the State Legislatures, their Members and their committees.
- Parliamentary privilege refers to the right and immunity enjoyed by legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties.
What constitutes a breach of this privilege?
- While the Constitution has accorded special privileges and powers to parliamentarians and legislators to maintain the dignity and authority of the Houses, these powers and privileges are not codified.
- Thus, there are no clear, notified rules to decide what constitutes a breach of privilege, and the punishment it attracts.
- Any act that obstructs or impedes either House of the state legislature in performing its functions, or which obstructs or impedes any Member or Officer of such House in the discharge of his duty, or has a tendency, directly or indirectly, to produce such results is treated as a breach of privilege.
- It is a breach of privilege and contempt to print or publish libel reflecting on the character or proceedings of the House or its Committees or on any member of the House for or relating to his character or conduct as a legislator.
Procedure followed in cases of an alleged breach
- The Legislative Assembly Speaker or Legislative Council Chairman constitutes a Privileges Committee consisting of 15 members in the Assembly and 11 members in the Council.
- The members to the committee which has quasi-judicial powers are nominated based on the party strength in the Houses.
- The Speaker or Chairman first decides on the motions.
- If the privilege and contempt are found prima facie, then the Speaker or Chairman will forward it to the Privileges Committee by following the due procedure.
- At present, there is no Privileges Committee in either House of the state legislature.
- The Committee will seek an explanation from all the concerned, will conduct an inquiry and will make a recommendation based on the findings to the state legislature for its consideration.
What is the punishment for this?
- If the Committee finds the offender guilty of breach of privilege and contempt, it can recommend the punishment.
- The punishment can include communicating the displeasure of the state legislature to the offender, summoning the offender before the House and giving a warning, and even sending the offender to jail.
- In the case of the media, press facilities of the state legislature may be withdrawn, and a public apology may be sought.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FCRA
Mains level: Money laundering and terror financing
The Union Home Ministry has granted FCRA registration to the famous Gurdwara Harmandir Sahib, or the Golden Temple, in Amritsar, enabling it to receive foreign donations.
Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
- The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 is an act to regulate the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies
- It prohibits acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto
- The central government has the power to prohibit any persons or organizations from accepting foreign contribution or hospitality if it is determined that such acceptance would likely “affect prejudicially”
(i) the sovereignty and integrity of India,
(ii) public interest,
(iii) freedom or fairness of election to any legislature,
(iv) friendly relations with any foreign State, or
(v) harmony between religious, racial, social, linguistic or regional groups, castes or communities
Premise for the FCRA
- Government of India enacted the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) in the year 1976 with an objective of regulating the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution.
- Any association, non-government organisation (NGO) or registered society requires FCRA registration to receive foreign donations for specified purposes.
- The act was majorly modified in 2010 with several amendments because many NGOs were found using illegal use of foreign funding.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SAROD-Ports
Mains level: Not Much
Union Ministry of Shipping has e-launched ‘SAROD-Ports’ (Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes – Ports).
Try this MCQ:
Q.The term SAROD is sometimes seen in the news with context to governance is related to:
(a) Disputes Redressal
(b) Employment
(c) Sustainable Development
(d) None of the above
SAROD Ports
SAROD-Ports are established under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with the following objectives:
- Affordable and timely resolution of disputes in a fair manner
- Enrichment of Dispute Resolution Mechanism with the panel of technical experts as arbitrators.
- They consist of members from the Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Indian Private Ports and Terminals Association (IPTTA).
- They will advise and assist in settlement of disputes through arbitrations in the maritime sector, including ports and shipping sector in Major Port Trusts, Non-major Ports, including private ports, jetties, terminals and harbours.
- It will also cover disputes between granting authority and Licensee/Concessionaire /Contractor.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Schemes covered under the initiaitive
Mains level: Not Much
The Department of Posts has launched a scheme called Five Star Villages, to ensure universal coverage of flagship postal schemes in rural areas of the country.
The Five Star Villages Scheme sounds typically among the most commons types say, Swachh Bharat, Financial Inclusion and Literacy or Infrastructure amenities. Here is the caution for preventing a blunder.
Five Star Villages Scheme
- The scheme seeks to bridge the gaps in public awareness and reach of postal products and services, especially in interior villages.
- The initiatives covered under the scheme include:
- Savings Bank accounts, Recurrent Deposit Accounts, NSC / KVP certificates,
- Sukanya Samridhi Accounts/ PPF Accounts,
- Funded Post Office Savings Account linked India Post Payments Bank Accounts,
- Postal Life Insurance Policy/Rural Postal Life Insurance Policy and
- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana Account / Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana Account.
- If a village attains universal coverage for four schemes from the above list, then that village gets four-star status; if a village completes three schemes, then that village gets three-star status and so on.
Its implementation
- The scheme will be implemented by a team of five Gramin Dak Sevaks who will be assigned a village for the marketing of all products, savings and insurance schemes of the Department of Posts.
- This team will be headed by the Branch Post Master of the concerned Branch Office. Mail overseer will keep personal watch on the progress of the team on daily basis.
- The teams will be led and monitored by concerned Divisional Head, Assistant Superintendents Posts and Inspector Posts.
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